The cities of Cañon City and Florence are expected to make a decision by April 1 whether or not they will allow retail pot shops to open and operate in each jurisdiction.

If approved, medical marijuana dispensaries will have the option to remain medical only or they may apply for a retail license, as well.

Evelynn Harmes, manager of Fremont County Cannabis, said the business owners are in support of the city approving retail marijuana sales.

"We feel it would create a lot of jobs, it would put a lot of business in abandoned buildings, property value would go up because it's not just the recreational marijuana, but it's the distribution of hemp and being able to make that, as well, and the industrial value it has," she said. "We would like to open recreational, but we would like to shed a positive light on marijuana as far as the aspects of it, not just the medical."

Advertisement

Fremont County Cannabis has been in business four years. Since Jan. 1 when retail marijuana shops opened in other communities, business only was slightly affected.

"We were still pretty busy, we have loyal members," she said. "It was affected a little bit the first week, the first couple of days were slower, but it picked right back up."

The owners of the family-owned and operated Alternative Medical Remedies in Penrose, however, are content to remain medical only, regardless of the city council's decision.

Shawna Ballman said the business opened in June 2010, and their customers have expressed their pleasure in the decision.

"They are happy that we've chosen to stay strictly medical," she said. "They said it shows a lot in what we're doing here, the medical aspect of it; we're not just growing marijuana to just sell it to anybody, we're very, very in tune with the medical aspect of it."

The dispensary has about 150 registered members, and about 300 - 500 people walk through their doors each month, she said. Since Jan. 1 business picked up at Alternative Medical Remedies.

"People were headed to the Pueblo West dispensaries and saw the long lines, and they didn't want to deal with it," she said. "They kept on driving and came out to us."

She said most people like to be discreet in their medical marijuana purchases, so their facility in Penrose on U.S. 50 is a prime location, especially for people passing through town.

Harmes said to be able to operate a retail shop, one must first apply for a recreational license and must have separate inventory from medical and recreational product.

The most common ailment patients seek medical marijuana for is pain management, and clientele ages range from 21 to 74, she said, with the average age being 40. She said marijuana has been patented by the government since the 1980s.